Peter Dutton choked back tears as the father of a one-punch victim thanked him on live radio for deporting the man who started the fight.
Steve Miller’s 18-year-old son Cole died on January 3, 2016, after he was knocked out with a single blow outside a Brisbane nightclub.
Armstrong Renata, 22, was jailed for seven years for throwing the fatal punch and his friend, New Zealand Daniel Maxwell, 21, got 18 months for starting the fight.
Peter Dutton choked back tears as the father of a one-punch victim thanked him on live radio for deporting the man who started the fight
Daniel Maxwell, 21, walked free from court last August (pictured) after being jailed for 18 months, having already served 19 months in custody
Maxwell walked free from court last August having already served 19 months in custody, but was arrested hours later and sent back across the Tasman.
Mr Miller thanked the former Immigration Minister for intervening after there was a ‘mix up at the courthouse’ that allowed him to walk free.
‘I got on to Peter Dutton’s office in Canberra, he was unavailable at the time and he rang me back at 4.30pm,’ he said on the phone to 2GB on Thursday.
‘He got onto the Queensland Police and Border Force immediately and that illegal immigrant was taken back into custody by 6.30pm that night and held for deportation to New Zealand.’
Cole Miller, 18, died on January 3, 2016, after he was knocked out with a single blow outside a Brisbane nightclub after Maxwell started a fight and his friend joined the fray
Cole’s father Steve Miller (pictured) thanked the former Immigration Minister for intervening after there was a ‘mix up at the courthouse’ that didn’t deport Maxwell right away
Maxwell was residing in Australia legally on the night of Cole’s death but his visa was cancelled after conviction, like all foreigners sentenced to more than a year in jail.
‘I’d like to that Peter Dutton for that, he didn’t know me from a bar of soap. The guy’s a champion, he’s out there looking out for Australians and the Australian way of life,’ Mr Miller continued.
‘We just want him to know we were grateful for his immediate actions to help that day.’
Dutton appeared emotional on footage shot by news cameras waiting inside the Sydney studio as he listened to Mr Miller.
His lips quavered and he found it hard to keep his head up after the equally emotional father hung up and was barely able to speak.
‘It’s an emotional thing, it really is,’ he said, before host Ray Hadley abruptly ended the interview.
Maxwell had told his friends ‘do you want to see something funny?’ before walking up to Cole and punching him in the chest without provocation
Armstrong Renata, 22, was jailed for seven years for throwing the fatal punch
‘Thanks Ray and thanks to Steve, I’m so sorry for his family,’ Mr Dutton said before signing off.
Cole died after Maxwell challenged him to a fight while he walked through a mall with a friend to catch a taxi in Fortitude Valley.
Maxwell had told his friends ‘do you want to see something funny?’ before walking up to the teenager and punching him in the chest without provocation.
Renata then entered the fray and punched the teenager once in the back of the head, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement.
Cole never regained consciousness following the attack and his parents turned off his life support the following day.
Mr Dutton’s lips quavered and he found it hard to keep his head up after the equally emotional father hung up and was barely able to speak
Cole died after Maxwell challenged him to a fight while he walked through a mall with a friend to catch a taxi in Fortitude Valley
Justice Ann Lyons said Maxwell was ‘looking for a fight’ and ‘he wanted to cause harm’ as she sentenced him in August.
‘What happened in the mall… it was cowardly on every level. Nothing you did that night was honourable. Nothing you did puts you in a good light,’ she said.
‘You were laughing as you left. Your lack of respect, your lack of empathy, is difficult to fathom.’
Mr Miller expressed his anger at Maxwell’s freedom as he gave a statement from his family outside court, soon before he called Mr Dutton’s office.
‘We understand the reasoning behind the 18-month sentence but we are disgusted that a convicted criminal who is now an illegal immigrant is allowed to walk free on our streets of Brisbane,’ he said.
Steven and Mary-Leigh Miller sprinkle holy water on the coffin of their son at his funeral
Cole never regained consciousness following the attack and his parents turned off his life support the following day